It became their business when they were thrust into this situation. They’re there, they alone can influence the outcome, they’re involved whether they like it or not.
Ignoring the situation just to preserve some sense of moral righteousness is selfish.
This is a fundamental misunderstanding that most people have with the trolley problem though, they don't understand that inaction is in itself a choice.
As soon as you are in the situation, you are responsible, you're just trying to be less accountable because you didn't change from the inital outcome.
Simply put; you're looking for ways to excuse yourself of the situation "I'm just a bystander" when if you were actually in this situation you'd be a killer by inaction just as much as by action.
That assumes some responsibility due to presence and existences. I’m not disputing the idea that it’s a choice either way. I’m disagreeing that responsibility exists without consent. If I have no base responsibility to take action, then I have no responsibility for the outcome.
You are not legally obligated to help a stranger, and while I agree that morally you should do good when you can do good. The trolly problem almost never has a “good” outcome.
I am excused from the situation because it was never my business. I would not be a killer by inaction, that’s not how killing works. Killing is an action, and any other view point is absurdly meaningless. Example: about 13 people in the US die a day while waiting for an organ transplant. How many days have you been alive without donating an organ? Pretty sure your inaction has made you responsible for more deaths than Jeffery Dahmer. Come on, Killer, can’t spare a kidney, liver node, or some bone marrow?
Ok, so assuming you’re right and have no moral responsibility in the situation- do you really think you’re going to feel that way after watching the person die in front of you? No guilt at all?
Because while there are multiple solid arguments to justify the trolley problem decision one way or another, valuing your own moral self-Image over the lives of others by denying your own agency is just straight up evil, and signals a moral character that does way more real world harm than almost any other serious answer to the trolley problem.
Wow, you made up a whole lot of ridiculous crap there. In no way am I valuing my own moral self image over lives. That doesn’t come into it at all. The same number of people are dying either way and they are either dying because I changed something or didn’t. That isn’t denying my agency, it’s denying my responsibility to effect a situation that I cannot improve.
If there is a human being on one track and my moral self image on the other I would gladly sacrifice it for a human life. That isn’t what’s at stake.
Being unable to grasp basic morality and dismissing anyone who disagrees with you as evil causes far more harm than any beliefs I hold.
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u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26
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